Most people, designers especially, enjoy changing their desktop background. It’s a way to make the computer that you use every single day a bit more personal, and customised to your exact way of working. The added benefit is that you can change it often and get a rush of creativity by working with a new, fresher interface. But the same is also true of app icons.
We’re exposed to the same app icons every single day – whether it’s Photoshop or Spotify, iTunes or Chrome – we sometimes see that little graphic in the menu dock hundreds of times a day. That’s why some designers create replacement app icons that add some new life to the application, and make the dock feel a bit fresher and new. We’ve brought together a selection of some brilliantly inventive, beautifully designed, tasteful icon replacements – all available for free and designed by incredibly talented artists. We hope you find the collection useful.
Adobe Photoshop, Fireworks & Illustrator
Source: http://dribbble.com/shots/230829-Adobe-Set-1
Safari
Source: http://dribbble.com/shots/608327-Minimal-Safari-Update
Activity Monitor
Source: http://graphicpeel.com/icons
Source: http://dribbble.com/shots/833877-Twitter-Icon-Replacement
MPlayerX
Source: http://dribbble.com/shots/957334-MPlayerX-replacement-icon
Spotify
Source: http://jonasraskdesign.com/files/b1da7bcc2f53fcf56596a6a5545872b0-2.html
Sublime Text 2
Source: http://dribbble.com/shots/382465-Sublime-Text-2-update-Replacement-Icon
iTunes
Source: http://dribbble.com/shots/52197-vinylTunes-2-0
MAMP
Source: http://dribbble.com/shots/655820-MAMP-replacement-icon
Chrome
Source: http://jeanmarcdenis.me/goodies/icons/chrome
Terminal
Source: http://dribbble.com/shots/656627-Terminal-Macintosh-Icon
Cyberduck
Source: http://dribbble.com/shots/172587-Cyberduck-replacement-icon
Skype
Source: http://dribbble.com/shots/913884-Skype-Replacement-Icon
Rdio
Source: http://dribbble.com/shots/990721-Rdio-Replacement-Icon
WriteRoom
Source: http://dribbble.com/shots/796176-WriteRoom-Replacement-Icon
Clear for Mac
Source: http://dribbble.com/shots/835494-Clear-for-Mac-Icon-Replacement
Have you found any beautifully designed app icons that you’d like to share? Let us know what you’ve found in the comments.
Dan writes for The Handpicked Collection and The Handpicked Foodstore. Outside of work he studies graphic and web design and tries to improve his Photoshop skills.
